Naughty Dog: We've been asked to push Ellie to the back of the box art
Last Of Us creative director and star Ashley Johnson tackle the sexism and game packaging
Never has game packaging been such a hot topic, and now Naughty Dog's creative director on Last Of Us, and its star Ashley Johnson, have spoken out over the decision to put main character Ellie front and centre.
“I feel like they don't put women on the covers because they're afraid that it won't sell," Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie, told VG247.
"It's all gamers really know - and I don't want to be sexist by any means - but I get the feeling, generally, that they think game's won't sell as well with a woman on the cover, compared to some badass dude on the front.”
Creative director Neil Druckmann agreed, and revealed there had been pressure to go for a more traditional, less female look to the retail product.
“I agree with what Ashley said. I believe there's a misconception that if you put a girl or a woman on the cover, the game will sell less. I know I've been in discussions where we've been asked to push Ellie to the back and everyone at Naughty Dog just flat-out refused.”
The comments come just days after Irrational's Ken Levine was forced to defend his company's decision to go for a more generic, and male, style of packaging for Bioshock Infinite.
"The money we're spending on PR, the conversations with games journalists - that's for the fans. For the people who aren't informed, that's who the box art is for.”